Lorena Espin – Winner of the Best Dive Job in the World 2014/2015
After the closing ceremony for the Best Dive Job in the World, I spent a week of downtime with Jason and Lisa at the Prama Sanur Beach. As you already know, I am very appreciative of downtime. But I was especially happy to spend time with my friends before they left.
My IDC starts in a few weeks; I am very excited about it but more on that shortly. In the meantime, I am diving every day. It feels great to be back in the water, but moreover it feels great to be confident in the water. Every dive, I find something cool. Unfortunately I have yet to see a Mola Mola, but I am optimistic that I will meet and befriend one before my year is up.
Soon I will collect my own dive gear, courtesy of Aqualung and Suunto. I do not think it needs to be said but I will say it anyway: OMG I AM SO EXCITED TO GET MY OWN GEAR! It is starting to sink in just how much I have won. I knew that I would have liked to win – because, come on, how fun is winning?! – but I did not realize how much I needed it.
I cannot wait for IDC to start and to meet the other candidates. This time the playing field is a little more level because we are all going in with the same certifications, knowledge, and mastery of skills. No more feeling like the underdog.
But never mind the playing field because the IDC is not a competition and I am incredibly excited about that. These soon-to-arrive candidates will not be competitors, they will be friends.
Admittedly, I am already nervous about the looming Instructor Examination, but I will cross that bridge when I get there.
Once that bridge is crossed, I am very excited to think that soon I will be teaching my first PADI Open Water students. I remember my first open water dive. This is partly because it was not that long ago, but mostly because it was a memorable and enriching experience. To be a part of that experience for other people – this is what I look forward to the most!
struggle was that we were separated into two teams of four and competed against each other in what I was convinced were impossible challenges. Taking pictures of fish during a violent drift dive? Sell T-shirts in a country none of know? I stress: Impossible challenges.
After work on the Great Barrier Reef, I bought a van and road tripped down the East coast, all the way to Sydney and eventually the world famous Great Ocean Road. The sights along the way were unforgettable, both on the surface and underwater. I dove world famous sites like the Yongala wreck, Julien rock and Southwest rock, seeing a vast variation of marine life including, dolphins, seals, whales and several wicked shark encounters. The memories and experiences in Australia alone are enough to write a book, but for now I’ll keep it short and sweet. Luckily, just hours before my flight to Perth, I, along with my accomplises, were able to sell my van and, from there, I set out to my next dive job location on the Ningaloo Reef in Coral Bay. For the next 6 months I was working whale shark and manta ray tours. It was epic! Coral Bay will forever have a special place in my heart and I will certainly be back one day.
So here I am, three years since it all began. As you can imagine, this journey has taken me to places I never imagined and, in the process, I have made some life long friends from all over the world. In the PADI open water course knowledge review one question asks, “What’s the purpose of the PADI system of continuing education? The answer simply states, You meet people, go places and do things”. But really, that is the extreme shortened version of something you must experience for yourself to truly understand the extent to which it is true. Once you start a life of travel, especially in the dive industry, you become intertwined in this ever growing network and in many ways, this vast world becomes very small and connected. It seems no matter where I go, there is someone welcoming me with open arms to their home and, in many ways, I extend that same invitation to people who happen to end up where I am.
So, moving forward on this windy road we call life, I don’t know what my exact future entails, but that’s what makes things so exciting. “The world is a book and those who do not travel, only read one page”. Although at this point I have read my fair share of pages, I am definitely not even close to finishing that book. You only get one life in this world and with all the beauty and wonder there is to explore, you really need to make the most of your time and not let the world pass you by. When traveling, no matter where you go, the experience alone, absorbing different cultures, seeing how differently people live from what you are used to is something that gains great perspective on your life, hopefully making you a more understanding, well -rounded person in the process. There is no shortage of places to explore on our ocean planet and the luxury of life as a dive instructor is that you have the freedom to do so. You know what they say: “if you love your job, you never have to work a day in your life”! We all have our passions in life but rarely take the leap to pursue them. Our world is addicted to learning. In my eyes, the best way to learn is through experience. The true way to experience is to travel. So get out there and do it!
When looking back on my time in Bali, still to this day, I am overtaken with emotion. The anticipation and buildup was so incredibly exciting and, not for one moment during my stay, was this ever anticlimactic.
As my time and training progressed, things just kept getting better and better. My experience underwater grew exponentially and I eventually started with my divemaster course,taking on a more professional role in the PADI system. I took part in my DM training alongside Priscilla Ong, fellow BDJ winner as well as a group of individuals from all over the world, who shared a similar passion for travel and, of course, diving. During the following months we did all kinds of training workshops, mapping projects, beach clean ups and conservation projects, taking customers on guided dives all over the island and many, many pool skill circuits, becoming expert demonstrators. The DM program in its entirety was extremely rewarding because we were all able to grow at our own pace in our individual styles while, in the meantime, also forming a special bond. Although we were far from home, we all shared the feeling that we were a part of a new little family in our current home away from home. We spent our days training side by side, eating dinners together at the night market and exploring the island on our days off. I am still in contact with many of them to this day and there has been some epic reunions along the way!
The days were jam packed full of theory, pool and ocean workshops but the structure and feedback we received made the learning process not only attainable but extremely enjoyable as well. For me, the verbal presentations and underwater instruction came more naturally but the theory was something I had to put extra emphasis on.
After some final last words of advice from our course directors and IDC staff we entered a room full of potential future instructors to write our theory and standards exams. You could feel the tension in the classroom. Thankfully, we all passed and a temporary sigh of relief set in as we looked onwards to day two. The following day was knowledge development presentations and pool skill presentations. We were well prepared and passed with flying colours. Finally, we arrived at graduation day for the ocean presentations and demonstration of rescue exercise 7.
Needless to say, after those diving experiences, I was forever hooked. I arrived back home to my life as a cook and struggling student trying to make it in this world but eventually the burning desire built up triggering me to open my computer in search for a way to unlock this new life I was seeking. I needed to make the ocean my office.
The contest became a part of my life because I knew if I worked hard enough at it, my life would change as a result. I reached out to friends, family, co-workers and fellow classmates because they were the people who knew me best. Whether it was through online communications or personal interactions, I felt people could really get the sense of just how badly I wanted to change my life as well as how optimistic I was with my chances. I said it before and I’ll say it again, from the moment I read about the contest, I had this empowering feeling that this was the opportunity that would change my life. I truly did believe I had just as good a chance as any to take the cake and I think it was this confidence that transpired to the people in my life, thus giving me wave after wave of support and the encouragement I needed to continue to believe in myself. To all of those people, I am forever grateful.
Here are some tips
Eight (8) candidates will be selected in November 2014 to come to Bali in late May 2015 to compete for the first prize while completing a six-week training program allowing them to become certified PADI Divemasters. Candidates will then be eliminated one by one until the discovery of the winner. The winning package includes all the necessary training to become a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, plus free accommodation while in training, a complete set of Aqualung gear, all the learning material needed to succeed, and a full-time work contract with Blue Season Bali.
